Ch.142Speech (3)

Arwen’s speech was a huge success in garnering enthusiastic support from the citizens, but looking deeper into the details, one can see that it wasn’t a complete success.

It contained content that could easily be misinterpreted as racial supremacy, or fascism, which is why she specifically cautioned against falling into arrogance.

There were unavoidable compromises needed to somehow unite purebloods and half-bloods into a single elven community.

So the key question going forward is whether purebloods and half-bloods can successfully integrate and become truly one in a meaningful sense. If things flow as Arwen wishes, perhaps even Dark Elves might be accepted.

However, given the nature of the Senate that constantly checks her power, it’s clear they will interfere with her efforts to build achievements. I can only hope that Arwen will handle herself well.

Thus, even after all the speeches ended and people began dispersing from the square, we remained seated. The reason was simple.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I am…”

“I’m truly delighted to meet the Sun of the Empire…”

“Perhaps we could invite you to our country later…”

“What is Helium like?”

As soon as the speech ended, people swarmed around Rina and Cecilly. This was half-expected since Alfheim had distinguished guests not only from the Empire of Minerva but from other countries as well.

I instinctively tried to slip away since I was uncomfortable in such gatherings. Though I should get used to these impromptu meetings for future benefit, it was a habit that emerged unconsciously.

But there was one person who stopped me.

“Where are you going? You need to get used to these occasions now.”

“But I don’t want to…”

“Don’t whine. Eventually when you marry me, you’ll have to make your debut in social circles. You’re not planning to distance yourself from me just because you don’t want to attend social gatherings, are you?”

It was my girlfriend Marie. She made me attend the impromptu meeting by making one valid point after another.

I grumbled at first, but thinking about it carefully, there was nothing bad about attending. Besides, since it was an impromptu meeting, it would only last a short time, so there was no need to feel burdened.

The only thing that concerned me was that I wasn’t dealing with nobles from the Empire of Minerva, but royalty or nobility from other countries. I wasn’t familiar with their culture and etiquette.

However, that anxiety soon proved to be unfounded.

“Your name is Issac, right? Red hair is quite rare in the world, it’s truly unique.”

“I hear that a lot. I imagine the lady has heard similar comments?”

“Since my hair is orange, I hear such things often. Does Princess Marie hear such comments too?”

“Yes, white hair isn’t very common either.”

Perhaps because it was an impromptu meeting, or because Marie’s rank was high, everyone was friendly. They always mentioned my hair and eyes whenever they looked at me.

Moreover, since I came from a baronial family and Marie from a ducal family, we were perfect for drawing people’s curiosity. Occasionally, some people would ask Marie what she saw in me that led to our engagement.

It could be a somewhat unpleasant question, but considering our difference in rank, it was an inevitable question.

And our girlfriend would answer such questions by pointing at my face.

“You can tell by looking at my fiancé’s face. Imagine that face smiling kindly.”

“Oh… I understand now. Such a distinctive appearance is rare.”

“Yes, that’s right. And he seems to have quite a good physique too…”

“I used to train as a knight. Although I gave it up due to lack of talent, I still exercise regularly.”

“By the way, he’s currently a promising talent recognized by professors at Halo Academy. He’s already registered as a recommended student and assists the professors.”

Somehow I ended up being boasted about, but it was to prove that I was a suitable match for Marie. That way, they wouldn’t look down on me.

As expected, after Marie’s boasting session ended, both women and men looked at us with envious eyes. They probably thought of us as a handsome couple.

Marie as a beautiful woman from a ducal family, and me as a capable man with a distinctive appearance despite my lower rank.

Moreover, being from the Empire of Minerva, arguably the strongest human nation, we lacked nothing. Thanks to this, we were able to build connections smoothly.

After some time passed, several people left due to busy schedules. As the crowd thinned, Rina and Cecilly naturally joined us.

Most of the conversation was led by the women, while the men answered their questions. It’s natural for women to take the lead in conversation rather than rhetoric, as they excel at it more than men.

I too simply listened to the women’s chatter. I occasionally made eye contact with other men, and when I gave an awkward smile, they returned bitter smiles.

Despite differences in nationality, culture, and rank, men were too simple to join in women’s conversations.

“By the way, what do you all think about the speech?”

Then one woman mentioned the speech. She was a woman with brown hair and blue eyes, possessing a modest yet elegant beauty.

If I recall from earlier conversations, she was from the Dutchy of Bellua. Though small, Bellua is the center of global trade and has amassed enormous wealth.

Even the greedy Empire of Minerva would like to occupy it if they could, but since it’s a neutral country, they leave it alone.

“It was an excellent speech. I especially liked the final part about ‘of the elves, by the elves, for the elves.’ But somehow it felt a bit…”

“You think it had a racial supremacist tone, don’t you?”

Cecilly, who had been quietly listening, answered instead. The woman who had hesitated to speak freely brightened up when Cecilly gave a straightforward answer and nodded vigorously.

To this, Cecilly glanced at me for some reason, then smiled gently and continued.

“I’m concerned about that part too, but the Queen repeatedly emphasized not to fall into arrogance. Originally, arrogance becomes problematic only when it harms others. If one has pride without harming others, there’s no issue.”

“I see. I was wondering why she mentioned racial wars, but now I understand.”

“Yes. And we’ll have to see how things unfold. The Queen handled it well, but human affairs are unpredictable.”

While the critique of the speech continued, I quietly shifted my gaze elsewhere. I looked specifically at where the nobles of Alfheim were gathered.

They were gathered together as if they too were having impromptu meetings like us. Perhaps some of them might be listening to our conversation.

It’s not entirely impossible, considering that elves can use magic as easily as demons breathe, so they could be eavesdropping. Moreover, the people here aren’t ordinary nobles but royalty or high-ranking nobles.

‘I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to talk here.’

Since it was an impromptu meeting, important topics probably wouldn’t come up, but you never know. There’s always the possibility of a slip of the tongue.

Fortunately, only comments like how surprisingly young Arwen was, or how she must still be old since she’s an elf, were made. Nothing beyond that.

If someone tactlessly brought up something inappropriate…

“Lady Kate, I think it might be somewhat disrespectful to discuss that here. There are nobles from Alfheim over there.”

“Ah…! I-I’m sorry.”

Rina, who held the highest rank among us, immediately intervened. Indeed, rank is powerful.

Anyway, the impromptu meeting ended shortly, and we also started to leave since we needed to return to the academy tomorrow. Though I would have liked to explore Alfheim, time was limited.

Above all…

“Achoo!”

“Still like that?”

“Ugh. Mmm…”

Cecilly’s allergic reaction was becoming increasingly serious. During the recent impromptu meeting, she barely spoke and only answered when asked, essentially keeping her mouth tightly shut.

People who saw this might have thought it strange, but when she started sneezing and sniffling like now, they quickly realized she wasn’t feeling well.

I looked at her with worried eyes and suddenly noticed something around her neck.

Not just goosebumps, but something bumpy…

“Huh? Sis, there’s something on your neck.”

“What, what?”

Cecilly was startled by my words and touched her neck. She then looked extremely flustered and quickly checked her arm.

On her pale white arm, similar hives had appeared. Seeing this, we couldn’t help but open our eyes wide in surprise.

The mana of the World Tree was more lethal to demons than we had anticipated.

“…Lord Balack!”

“Yes, Princess.”

After checking her arm, Cecilly called for Gartz. In response, Gartz silently appeared before us.

I was slightly surprised by his ability to appear without any presence, but that wasn’t the issue. Cecilly urgently questioned him.

“Do you have hives too, Lord Balack?”

“I haven’t developed hives yet… Achoo! I apologize. I haven’t developed hives like you, Princess.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing his answer, Cecilly furrowed her brow and looked at her arm. Though the hives weren’t extensive yet, her skin was turning red, indicating that the symptoms were becoming increasingly serious.

While hives often improve over time, this case was unprecedented since it was caused by ‘mana,’ not pollen or food.

Cecilly turned her head to look behind her. Her gaze was directed precisely at the World Tree.

“…Now I understand why demons couldn’t invade Alfheim.”

She then muttered bitterly and wrapped her hand around her arm where the hives had appeared. Meanwhile, I looked at Cecilly with concerned eyes.

Sensing my gaze, Cecilly gave her characteristic smile to alleviate my worry.

“Don’t worry too much. Seeing that Lord Balack doesn’t have hives, it’s because I’m too strong. The stronger a demon is, the more concentrated their dark mana becomes.”

“…Let’s go back quickly. It might get worse.”

“Thanks for worrying. But I’m not as weak as you think… Achoo!!”

“… …”

I gently closed my eyes as soon as Cecilly sneezed. Since we were facing each other, I could vividly feel the spray on my face.

If there had been any warning, I would have turned my head, but it came so suddenly without any sign that there was no time to avoid it.

“Sniff… S-sorry. Want me to wipe it off?”

“…It’s okay.”

It seemed that demons would need thorough preparation to visit Yggdrasil.

*****

It was when Issac’s group was returning home. While Arwen’s speech was sufficient to eliminate the deeply rooted arrogance in the hearts of Alfheim’s citizens, not everyone was without complaints.

Among them, the most representative was naturally Arwen’s opposing force, the Senate. They couldn’t help but be flustered by Arwen’s unexpectedly excellent speech.

With only about a week until the national address, whether it was talent or a hidden skill, she showed unexpected oratory abilities. Not just the speech itself, but its content delivered a significant shock to the Senate.

“Damn it! To think she was hiding such ability…!”

Phiren, the head of the Senate and the delegate, expressed his frustration as he returned to Elodia. Arwen’s national address had concluded as a great success beyond his expectations, and furthermore, the boundary between purebloods and half-bloods was disappearing.

For someone who had been constantly checking Arwen, this was incomprehensible. He already knew she loved books and had excellent eloquence, but speech-making was different.

Whatever happened in that week, Arwen had moved the hearts of Alfheim’s citizens and captured public sentiment.

‘I thought she would fail…’

Phiren pondered with his fingers on his furrowed brow. The reason he hadn’t interfered with Arwen during the week of preparation was because he predicted she would prepare an unremarkable speech.

Originally, the plan was to instigate conflict between purebloods and half-bloods to drive out all half-bloods. When Arwen initially revealed that she herself was a half-blood, he was inwardly delighted.

However, that prediction was completely off the mark, and the plan became worthless. He hadn’t expected Arwen to form a single ‘elven’ community rather than distinguishing between purebloods and half-bloods.

It was obvious that his political position would be overshadowed by Arwen. Perhaps even the prestigious families supporting the Senate might support Arwen.

“Delegate Phiren!”

“Hmm?”

While Phiren was pondering, someone rushed towards him. Phiren emerged from his thoughts to see who it was.

It was Jukyrie, an elf he trusted who delivered information. She possessed the beautiful appearance characteristic of elves, but her face showed urgency.

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s something you need to see. Look at this!”

Jukyrie, who had rushed over, handed Phiren a paper while catching her breath. Phiren took the paper without suspicion, thinking it might be a letter.

However, the content written on the paper was enough to make Phiren’s eyes widen.

The content on the paper matched Arwen’s national address.

The issue was that it wasn’t in Arwen’s handwriting but someone else’s. He already knew her handwriting.

“This is…”

“A maid found it while cleaning the Queen’s chamber. The Queen seems to have forgotten to tidy it up. But…”

“The handwriting is different. This wasn’t written by the Queen.”

“Yes, that’s right. What do you think?”

“Hmm…”

Phiren stroked his white beard and pondered. While this could be used to pressure Arwen if utilized well, it wasn’t enough.

Who, when, where, delivered the speech to Arwen, and why.

Four of the six journalistic questions were missing. Phiren tried to think as quickly as possible and suddenly had a hypothesis.

‘Come to think of it, the Queen has been particularly reluctant to search for Xenon…’

There are many people in the world who write well. However, there are very few who can write heart-moving texts like this speech.

Of course, this might be jumping to conclusions, but considering Arwen’s attitude so far, it’s not strange. She rejected all their suggestions to find Xenon and dismissed it as just a book.

But what if Xenon and Arwen had a close relationship? Moreover, Arwen revealed herself to be a half-blood, and half-bloods typically grow up in human society.

And the Biography of Xenon contains the tragic narrative of Kayre and Elisha. A love story between an elven queen and a human with exceptional abilities.

Furthermore, Xenon is widely believed to be a sage who has experienced many hardships, and it’s said that he incorporated his personal experiences into the Biography of Xenon. Otherwise, creating such a story would have been impossible.

Phiren couldn’t help but be suspicious as the puzzle pieces seemed to fit together oddly well.

Arwen and Xenon might have had a deep relationship in the past. Perhaps they separated due to the difference in lifespan.

“…Jukyrie.”

“Yes, Delegate.”

“Send someone to the publisher of the Biography of Xenon right away. Ask for just one letter with Xenon’s statement.”

“What? Why is that…”

To the puzzled Jukyrie, Phiren raised one corner of his mouth and said:

“I think an interesting story is about to unfold.”